1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a free standing table game of skill utilizing a spherical ball and a plurality of markers, for example, upstanding pins, wherein the playing surface comprises a planar portion and a plurality of arcuate portions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a plurality of free standing table games available in the market place. The game of pool and billiards are played on a free standing table having a planar surface and a plurality of pockets utilizing a cue stick and a plurality of spherical balls. Snooker is similarly played on a planar table with a cue stick and a plurality of spherical balls, albeit on a table larger than a pool or billiard table. Bumper pool is a free standing game of skill played on a planar surface with cue sticks, a plurality of spherical balls, and a plurality of fixed bumper pins displaced about the pocket. Shuffleboard is a freestanding game of skill played on a longitudinal, planar surface surrounded by a gutter and utilizing a plurality of disks or pucks.
The commonality associated with the aforesaid games is that they are played on a planar surface which requires the player's skill to be exhibited in a planar or XY plane. There has long been a need for a free standing game of skill which requires the skill to be exhibited in the “XYZ” planes, that is a game of skill played simultaneously on a planar and non-planar or arcuate surface. Applicant's game answers this need in the free standing table game of skill category.
Applicant's table game is designed for commercial use such as pubs, lounges, cruise ships, casinos and the like. It may also be scaled down so as to be less expensive and within a price range suitable for the average family home or den.
The game is designed to develop skills that utilize the basic principles of gravity and geometry to control the speed and direction of the ball. Any point within the main play area may be reached by using any combination of the inclines and the different directions which they face, and the intended height the ball rolls up any of the inclines and the angle which the ball is launched is controlled by the player. Although previous concepts involve the reversal of ball direction, they return the ball to an area or plane different from that of the launch area where the ball originates. Applicant's table game is unique in that it is the players intention to reach the final ball destination back within the main play area where the ball is launched by utilizing combinations of the various inclines. Still further, the number of inclines utilized on a single pass can add to the scoring of the game.